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“Never tell the truth to people who are unworthy of it.” Mark Twain
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to let a caseworker into my house?
What if the caseworker has a police officer with her?
What if the caseworker wants me to sign something?
Should I let the caseworker have my children’s birth certificates or social security numbers?
Do I have to let the caseworker speak to my children?
Do my children have to speak to the caseworker or police?
Can a caseworker strip search my children?
What if a caseworker (or anyone else) says I don’t have to appear in court or attend a meeting?
Can a caseworker demand that I separate and/or divorce my spouse?
What is concurrent planning and expedited permanency planning?
Should I trust the caseworker or the police?
What do I do if I have a caseworker’s card on my door or a caseworker message on my machine?
Should I talk to the media about my case?
What are the things I should always do to protect my family?
My attorney is trying to make me stipulate to a petition that my child was abused or neglected but I don’t have to admit I did anything. Will this get my children back more quickly like he says?
I am also facing criminal charges for abusing/neglecting my children. How should I handle both cases?
What are the greatest dangers in these kinds of cases?
Is there a risk of Retaliation for using an Advocate?
My court appointed attorney wants to quit OR I want to fire my court appointed attorney. Should I do this?
What kind of help can I expect from online parent’s rights or family rights groups?
Link to Consumer Advisory: Dangerous, Incompetent or Untrustworthy Advocates and Organizations Named
The following documents are available on our View Documents page
Link to General Guidelines of the CPS process in Dependency Court
Link to What is an Advocate? the short version
Link to How do I Choose an Advocate?
Link to Protecting Your Family Privacy
Link to public documents page for more useful information.
More detailed information is available on our paid Membership pages.
Link to Guidelines for Supervised Visitations
Do I have to let a caseworker into my house?
You have the constitutional right to refuse any government official entry into your house without a VALID warrant or court order. VALID court order means a written court order in most states. Phone orders do not comply with this requirement. Orders issue after the seizure of the children are not proper orders. Any alleged VERBAL order (in the states where verbal orders are valid) must be documented on the record by the judge with a court reporter making a verbatim transcript of the ex parte hearing - and you have a right to that transcript/recording. NO after-the-fact record is valid.
When you refuse entry, the caseworker will threaten to get a court order. If you let her in without a court order, you will be deemed to have given your consent to her entry. A caseworker cannot serve a warrant, only an officer of the law can serve a warrant. You have the right to see any court order or warrant. If the caseworker leaves to get a court order, we recommend that you take the children and flee until the case can be resolved. It is clearly established in law that case workers ARE subject to lawsuit if they violate your constitutionally protected rights in their efforts to ‘protect children.’
AS A RESULT of parents refusing state agency caseworkers access to children or entry into homes, state agencies are enlisting the aid of private organizations to gain entry an conduct the investigations. FOR EXAMPLE: Recent reports reveal that social workers with the Salvation Army are cooperating with CPS to gain entry into home and investigate reports of child abuse or neglect. BEWARE of any person seeking entry into the home or seeking to gain access to your children - especially social worker types.
Check out this quote from Michigan’s Child Welfare Law manual, “The sanctity of the home is constitutionally protected and parents may legally refuse a caseworker admittance to the home and refuse access to the child. In such a case the worker might seek a court order to assist the investigation or contact the child at some other location. Current law does not require the workers to apprise parents of their right to refuse entry. Even silence may constitute implied consent as long as the parent makes no physical gesture such as barring the door, which indicates lack of consent.” footnote include:1. MFIA Services Manual, Item 712 2. MFIA Services Manual, Item 712, p. 83 3. MCL 722.628(2); MFIA Services Manual, Item 712 4 See Myers v Morris, 810 F2d 1437 (8th Cir. 1987); Fitzgerald v Williamson, 787 F2d 403 (8th Cir. 1986); Doe "A" v Special School District of St. Louis County, 637 F Supp 1138 (E.D. Mo 1986); Achterhof v. Selvaggio F2d (6th Cir 1989) No. 88-2231 Back to top
What if the caseworker has a police officer with her?
Caseworkers often bring police officers in order to intimidate you into cooperating. They also use and manipulate officers of the law by falsely stating that you are a danger to them. The police (NOT a caseworker) are allowed to remove children from a home without a warrant ONLY IF the child is in IMMINENT danger to his life or safety. You should demand that the officer state exactly what the imminent danger is. If he cannot state it, then you are within your legal rights to deny them access to your children. Otherwise, they MUST have a warrant or court order to remove your children. You do not have to allow the caseworker or police entry into the home without a warrant or court order - NO MATTER WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO THE CONTRARY. . We advise making them use force in order to preserve your right to sue them later. We have received reports of officers reaching for their weapons or actually drawing their weapons when the parents demand a warrant or demand the officer to state what exigent circumstances (emergency) exists. Sometimes, the caseworker will have a S.W.A.T. team to make a forced entry into the home for sole purpose of seizing the children. If the police have a warrant or seize the children, you should call an attorney immediately. Get the seizure on video tape if possible, or audio tape if that’s all you have. Tape recorders and video recorders tend to keep things honest and are vital to protect you from false testimony on the stand and false CPS reports/records. Back to top
What if the caseworker wants me to sign something?
You may be asked to sign documents when they seize your children. Since you probably have no idea what you are signing, it is best not to sign anything. Often, they will ask you to sign that you agreed to have your children taken. You must understand that caseworkers NEED you to agree to whatever they do to you and your children in order to protect them from malpractice and other lawsuits. Once again, we advise you to make them use legal force to kidnap your children. Don’t give them permission by signing anything. Especially don’t sign releases of information. Back to top
Should I let the caseworker have my children’s birth certificates or social security numbers?
We recommend not providing this information to any caseworker who wants to place your child in foster care. They need these documents in order to collect federal funding. Don’t even give your children’s birth dates. There are specific laws which prohibit the forcible disclosure of Social Security numbers (see Profane Justice) and you can legally refuse to ‘volunteer’ for Federal entitlement programs on behalf of your children. You can also forbid them from obtaining Social Security numbers by any other means AND enforce that in a Federal Court. If they must bear the burden of foster care and treatment plan expenses without Federal funding, you stand a better chance of having your children returned. We also recommend NOT sending any of your child’s personal belongings, including clothing, when they go to foster care. We have had volumes of reports that their clothing and belongings are often ‘lost’ or redistributed or stolen. Don’t risk it. The foster care givers get an initial clothing allowance so your children will be clothed. The state will be charging you child support to recover foster care expenses, so don’t be duped into providing their clothing AND paying for new clothing. Make the state bear the expense if they insist on seizing your children. Back to top
Do I have to let the caseworker speak to my children?
No, not without a court order. We recommend that you have an attorney set up terms of any interview with your children (See Profane Justice for detailed instructions on interview conditions). A great many child interviewers employ inappropriate interview techniques which can be devastating to your family. Your children should NEVER be interviewed without your representative present. They will not interview your children in your presence if you are considered a perpetrator or offending parent. Back to top
Do my children have to speak to the caseworker or police?
No. In fact the most effective way to shut down an investigation is if the child refuses to speak to the caseworker or police. Teach them the rules for talking to authority figures (See Who Do I Trust? Knowing My Rules). You must give them permission to refuse to speak to certain people and teach them not to speak to ANYONE without you by their side. Back to top
Can a caseworker strip search my children?
Caseworkers believe they have the right to strip search your children. However, it is our opinion that if they do, it constitutes sexual abuse. They do not have the authority to conduct any kind of search without a court order. If they suspect the child has physical injuries, we believe that the child should be taken to a medical professional who is qualified to make a determination as to the child’s medical and physical condition. Your children must also be taught that they should NEVER let a stranger take their clothing off or view their unclothed bodies without YOUR permission. If a caseworker attempts to strip search them, they must be taught to scream and run. We have received numerous reports of caseworkers who have records of pedophilia and sexual abuse - and this is the perfect arena for them to achieve their perverted sexual gratification with impunity. Back to top
What if a caseworker (or anyone else) says I don’t have to appear in court or attend a meeting?
We constantly receive reports where a caseworker, Guardian ad litem (GAL) or even a respondent parent attorney advises a parent that they don’t have to show up for hearings or attend meetings. Failure to show up for any hearing without directly being excused by the judge means that you will lose by default. It is vital that you appear at ALL court hearings in order to protect your rights as a parent.
The first hearing will be to determine whether your children will stay in the custody of the state Child Protective Services (CPS) agency. You are allowed to present evidence and testimony at this hearing. It is imperative that you do so, no matter what everyone else says. If your attorney has not subpoenaed witnesses, he must request a continuance so that they can be subpoenaed. DO NOT count on simply being able to cross examine state witnesses. They often don’t put on the officer who reached for his gun when you asked for a warrant, they’ll put on the rookie who was simply along for the ride. Trust your instincts when deciding which witnesses to call, and contest the continued placement of your children in foster care. For detailed information on preparation for the temporary custody (shelter) hearing, see Profane Justice .
You should also attend all administrative meetings, and your attorney or advocate should also be present. This is where all the decisions really get made, you need to be a part of that process. Tape record these meetings. SEE information on tape recording laws for each state. Back to top
Can a caseworker demand that I separate and/or divorce my spouse?
All across the country, caseworkers and GALs are responsible for the heartless and unnecessary breakup of marriages. They will often tell a parent, usually the wife, that unless they get a restraining order, or separate or divorce their spouse, or accuse their spouse of domestic violence, they will never get their children back. This is one of the most cruel tactics employed by professionals in these cases, making someone choose between their beloved spouse and their beloved children. This torture is reminiscent of the Nazi tactic of making the condemned dig their own mass graves before their executions or by forcing the first five or ten condemned victims to select who of their friends and families will die and then torturing them to death in before their eyes. It is nothing more than torture for the sake of torture.
In a small percentage of these cases, there has been violence in the home, but in most there has been nothing more than an argument. Even if there has been violence, the purpose of intervention and the implementation of case plans is to rehabilitate parents so that they can provide a safe and appropriate home for their children. The act of forcing divorce on parents is an admission that their case plans and rehabilitation don’t work, but they will still make you jump through all the hoops before they terminate your parental rights. They have no intention of reunifying the family.
This is often a tactic employed when the parents have presented a unified front against the abduction of their children. Not only do these professionals need to separate you from your children, but they need to separate the spouses, too. This separation makes it easier to destroy the family and terminate parental rights. Most parents who have complied with these cruel demands from the professionals have lost their children anyway. They will say that the non-offending spouse cannot keep the children safe.
Separation and divorce creates severe financial hardships on the family and these financial difficulties further prove your unfitness to provide for your children. The best option if one spouse is physically violent is that he or she participate in treatment and modify violent behaviors. If there is no offending parent, this issue must be addressed in court by making the state PROVE there was violence in the home. Any kind of admission on your part to violence in the home if there was none, or separating from your spouse under their heartless threats will frequently backfire. They will say you don’t have the capacity to choose the right mate and probably not help you get your children back. Back to top
What is concurrent planning and expedited permanency planning?
Concurrent planning is the policy of having two case plans put in place at the same time regarding children who are placed in foster care. The first plan is usually to reunify the family, and a case plan is devised (ostensibly) to accomplish that goal. The second plan is to prepare the child for an alternative permanency plan, such as adoption, permanent foster care or guardianship. It is important to note that during the pendency of the case, the child is subjected to both plans. This often means that while the department will continue to allow the child to see his parents and make the parents jump through all their hoops, the professionals are using therapy and other services (read: brainwashing and conditioning) to weaken the child’s bonds and affections for his real parents and strengthen the child’s bonds and affections for his proposed artificial parents. It is, in effect and practice, the Stockholm Syndrome (remember Patty Hearst?) put into action. Through the application of concurrent planning, it becomes very easy for caseworkers and GALs to report to the court that the child doesn’t have a strong bond with his parents and that it is in his best interests to terminate parental rights. Well, no wonder, they destroyed the bonds through the mechanism of the case plan.
Expedited Permanency Planning is the Federal mandate which requires that children (usually under six) must have a permanent plan in place within twelve months after they are removed from their homes. Bear in mind that the first two or three months of this time is eaten away by the adjudication process and a case plan is rarely put in to place before the four month mark. That means, under the best scenario, that the parents only have eight months left to complete the case plan to the satisfaction of the professionals involved or else the caseworker will recommend termination of parental rights. Expect a permanency hearing around the twelve month mark. Back to top
Should I trust the caseworker or the police?
If a caseworker or police officer want to question you or your children, it is because you have been accused of child abuse or neglect. The overwhelming majority of parents who have trusted these government agents regret it. Most parents feel that they have done nothing wrong, they have nothing to hide and they want to show their good faith by cooperating. Many of these parents have lost their children permanently as a result. In most cases, any trust you place in caseworkers or police officers is misplaced, and that trust will likely be betrayed. Back to top
What do I do if I have a caseworker’s card on my door or a caseworker message on my machine?
Do not panic. This is the best time to get the case shut down if you handle it properly. You are not obligated by any law to return a caseworker’s call or to respond to her message. But if your children are in school, she has already probably spoken with them without your knowledge. Your children may have been instructed by her not to tell you that she has questioned them without your permission. Our first recommendation is to get the children out of the home, preferably out of state, until the issue is resolved. It is best if any parent who remains in the home does not know where the children are, or else they could be held in contempt of court for refusing to reveal their whereabouts if the court issues an order to seize custody of the children.
You will need a GOOD lawyer. It is best if he handles all contact with CPS during the investigation. Do NOT meet them at their office and do NOT let them into your home. Meet them at your attorney’s office, or another neutral location. You do not have a legal obligation to answer any of their questions. If you do meet with them, get it in writing that the case will be closed before you leave. For more details about how to handle a first contact with a CPS agent, see Profane Justice. Back to top
Should I talk to the Media about my case?
We believe media exposure of CPS abuses is very important. However, we do not suggest you speak to the media yourself. You should have an experienced and knowledgeable spokesperson conduct the interviews on your behalf with you by your spokespersons side. I have not seen many attorneys who can do that effectively. We offer spokespersons who can portray your case sympathetically to the public and who can make the child savers appear as irrational and hysterical as they actually are. The purpose of speaking out is to gain public sympathy for your side of the issue, and it takes a professional to accomplish that well. You don’t know the laws well enough to portray your case properly, and, sadly, neither does your attorney. Most parents and their attorneys talk too much and say the wrong things. They also are not experienced in speaking in sound bites. If you do decide to speak for yourself, by all means NEVER admit guilt, NEVER admit you should not have spanked your child, NEVER admit you did anything in anger or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, NEVER admit you deserved to have your children taken away. It not only hurts you, it hurts all of us. Back to top
What are the things I should always do to protect my family?
* You should ALWAYS tape record and/or video record EVERY contact with any child protection professional.
* You should train your children how to protect your family by recognizing which authority figures cannot be trusted (See Who Do I Trust? Knowing My Rules ).and to always tell the truth.
* Document everything with follow up letters. If the judge orders you to stop writing your follow up letters, continue to write them.
* If they make a promise, get it in writing before you agree to anything. If they refuse to put it in writing, they’re only lying to you.
* Don’t miss a single court appearance. Attend all meetings.
* If you are under a post-adjudication court ordered treatment plan, do not refuse to comply with the conditions. But while you are cooperating, be sure to document that cooperation and successful completion with frequent written contact with the caseworker so that you won’t be blind sided by a petition to terminate parental rights for your failure to successfully complete the treatment plan.
* Do NOT assist them with building a case against you by cooperating BEFORE an adjudication. Every time you speak with them, or if you comply with their demands for psychological evaluations and other treatment, you are providing them with evidence to twist and use against you. Make them prove the case against you BY THEIR OWN EFFORTS
* Unless you have abused/neglected your children, do NOT admit or stipulate to the petition. Adjudication is one element to terminate parental rights. Once they have that, all they need to do is say you failed to complete the treatment plan to terminate your parental rights.
* Do NOT presume they are acting in the best interests of your children. They are acting in the best interests of keeping their job.
* Do NOT presume they are interested in the truth or that the truth will necessarily exonerate you.
* Do NOT believe that you will be able to manage this case without competent, professional help. These cases are emotionally debilitating, and even the most competent of people find themselves emotionally overwrought, anxious, fearful and more. Find a GOOD lawyer, or at the very least, join a TRAINED family rights group for support, guidance and help. This does not mean relying on online groups. . .they are frequently enthusiastic and sympathetic, but they are untrained and reliance on their advice has been known to hurt cases. Back to top
My attorney is trying to make me stipulate (admit) to a petition that my child was abused or neglected but I don’t have to admit I did anything. Will this get my children back more quickly like he says?
Many jurisdiction have a ‘no fault’ provision in their child protection scheme. Even if they don’t have a statutory ‘no fault’ provision, they will often offer you some kind of ‘no fault’ provision in your petition if you will stipulate or agree to the petition. What this means is that the child was abused or neglect through no fault of your own and he requires services to address that abuse or neglect.
IF you stipulate, admit or agree to any petition, you lose your ability to appeal the decision to a higher court. You lose your right to a trial and to have the state bear the burden of proof. Legal and physical custody of the child will remain with the state. Your name will appear on the state child abuse registry. You are, for all purposes you have admitted you are an unfit parent (GUILTY of child abuse or neglect), no matter what the agreement was. At this point, a treatment plan will be put into place to REHABILITATE YOU, even if you weren’t at fault.
A ‘no fault’ admission does not protect you in any way. You can still lose your child to termination of parental rights the same as any parent who did abuse or neglect their children. You will still be charged foster care fees for their placement. You are not different than any abusive parent in the eyes of the professionals and they eyes of the court.
They NEED you to agree, especially if they can’t meet the burden of proof, in order to impose services on you and obtain Federal Funding, and your attorney will help them accomplish this. The only time you will have any semblance of due process is the adjudicatory trial. If you sign their stipulation, you waive all due process rights and claims. Back to top
I am also facing criminal charges for abusing/neglecting my children. How should I handle both the civil and criminal cases?
Any admission of guilt or admission to a dependency petition will be used against you in the other case. It is best to have one attorney handle and/or coordinate both cases to insure that something doesn’t happen in one case that will cause problems in the other case. YOU CAN WIN both cases, but NOT if you admit anything in either case.
Exercise your 5th amendment rights - KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
You can seek and obtain protective orders in the dependency case to prevent anything disclosed from being revealed in the criminal case. This is possible because the dependency case is supposed to be remedial, and you cannot remedy the issues if the information will be used against you in the criminal case. We have had parents fight and win Termination of Parental Rights while facing trial for manslaughter - which they also won (the family is now reunited and the children and safe and well). We can advise your attorney how to handle this effectively. Back to top
My court appointed attorney wants to quit OR I want to fire him. Should I do this?
If you agree in any way to allow your count appointed attorney to withdraw without objecting, the court has no obligation to appoint another attorney to replace him. You will be very unlikely to effectively represent yourself without an attorney. We recommend that you always object to an attorney’s request to withdraw UNLESS the court will appoint another to replace him. You have a due process right to court appointed counsel, but if you make no objection to his withdrawing, the court has no obligation to appoint a replacement. You must object, even if he is useless, to preserve your right to have the court appoint a replacement. As soon as you get his motion to withdraw, you must enter your objection to his withdrawing unless the court will appoint a replacement. For the same reason, you should never fire your court appointed attorney. If he is not doing his job, there are other options to employ to establish the record of his ineffective assistance of counsel and protect your due process rights. These are posted on our documents and membership pages.
What are the greatest dangers in these kinds of cases?
- Parents and kids who talk too much.
- Trusting anyone listed on the Family Advocate Consumer Advisory web site.
- Inadequate, ineffective assistance of counsel for respondent parents
- Parents who talk too much.
- Caseworkers, GALs and CASAs falsifying reports to the court.
- Trusting the Caseworkers, GALs and CASA and telling them the truth.
- PARENTS WHO TALK TOO MUCH.
- Incompetent investigations by caseworkers
- Caseworkers and others tampering with child witness statements or conducting inappropriate interviews with children.
- Tampering with or manufacturing evidence by caseworkers and others.
- Parents are denied access to their case file and to medical or school records of their children which could provide exculpatory evidence or prove incompetence, malice, malfeasance and crimes by professionals
- Parents who DON’T LEARN TO SHUT UP.
- Biased and incompetent judges who ‘err on the side of the child’ rather than acting as true finders of fact and judicial abuses of discretion.
- The universal presumption of guilt when a parent is accuses of child abuse/neglect, and the associated judicial practice of believing the caseworkers and professionals never lie and the parents always lie.
- Physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect of children in foster care, and the subsequent cover-up of that abuse/neglect.
- Parents being denied the ability to preserve the evidence by using tape recording devices or having witnesses present.
- Foster parents, therapists and other professionals who undermine parent-child bonds.
- Fraud by CPS, including medicaid fraud, insurance fraud, and more. Back to top
What kind of help can I expect from online parent’s rights or family rights groups?
Online groups, such as Yahoo! groups, are comprised mostly of parents who are in the same situation you are. They are hoping that by joining such groups, they can get useful information to assist them in their cases. There are usually some members who have been at this for some time, and who appear to know what they are talking about. If you decide to join online groups, you should do so with caution.
- Many of the members of these groups NEVER got their children back, because they didn’t handle their own cases properly. IF they didn’t handle their own case properly, chances are the advice they give you won’t be beneficial to your case.
- Some of the people on these groups NEEDED CPS intervention, but are in denial about it. They use the groups to vindicate themselves from responsibility for abuse or neglect they perpetrated. These people will focus very heavily on abuses committed by CPS (yes, they were probably abusive, but that doesn’t change the fact that these parents needed help) and cannot look at anything objectively. They will make blanket statements, tell lies, attack anyone who disagrees or questions their statements, cite absurd patriot law and appear to be knowledgeable, but the advice they give is what caused them to lose their children and their cases. After all, misery loves company and its no skin off of their nose if they take you down with them.
- Some of the members, and especially the leadership of the AFRA groups, have stolen AFAC proprietary written materials and attempted to provide information and advice from those materials in an effort to be credible, but they don’t get it right. The advice that comes from these sources is literally harmful, and should not be relied upon if you hope to win your children back.
- There are caseworkers, Guardians ad litem and other child savers on those groups. We know because members complain that their posts on these groups are being used in their court cases against them.
- Some of the AFRA groups have used the groups to incite harassment and stalking against NON-AFRA participants, including filing false reports with law enforcement and government agencies. If you make certain people on these groups angry, they will stop at nothing to get even and destroy you.
Membership and participation on these groups should be carefully considered. You will likely find sympathetic people who understand your situation, which can be beneficial from the perspective of being support groups. If you limit your participation to that use, you will probably be safe as long as you do not reveal private information. There are other ways of obtaining accurate factual information to assist you with your case, including from the documents available on this site.
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